Hotez, one of the report's lead authors, emphasized to me on Friday that "fewer than 2% of people in Africa who should be getting treated for schistosomiasis are currently getting treated, so this is a wakeup call to enhance coverage with praziquantel."

Mass administration of praziquantel of school aged children -- who are not yet sexually active -- can essentially inoculate girls against developing the disease; repeat treatments can keep girls and young women healthy, not to mention lowering the disease burden in the community.

Hotez and his colleagues have shown that a single mass treatment of praziquantel administered in Burkina Faso and Niger in West Africa reduced prevalence of schistosomiasis by 84 percent among girls; they cite similar results in other pilot programs.